Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 100 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System decreased its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,800 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $3,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BMI. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 83.0% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 194 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Down 3.1%

BMI opened at $173.60 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $182.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $209.09. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.17 and a twelve month high of $256.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.82, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.90.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.02). Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company had revenue of $238.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $235.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BMI shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $237.00.

Badger Meter Company Profile

Badger Meter, Inc manufactures and markets flow measurement, quality, control, and communication solutions worldwide. It offers mechanical or static water meters, and related radio and software technologies and services to municipal water utilities market. The company also provides flow instrumentation products, including meters, valves, and other sensing instruments to measure and control fluids going through a pipe or pipeline, including water, air, steam, and other liquids and gases to original equipment manufacturers as the primary flow measurement device within a product or system, as well as through manufacturers' representatives.